Crowd‐Out or Affordability? The Lifeline Expansion's Effect on Wireless Service Spending
研究了2008年美国生命线电话补贴扩张对家庭无线服务支出的影响，发现补贴不仅完全挤出了私人支出，还通过催生面向低收入家庭的市场竞争，使家庭节省了超过等额现金转移的支出。
Abstract Public subsidization of private goods often leads to crowd‐out, reducing private spending. This effect is intended for a policy such as the 2008 Lifeline phone subsidy expansion, which aimed to increase affordable access to services. I examine the effects of this policy on households’ self‐reported wireless phone service spending in the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Using state‐level variation in policy implementation and triple‐differences event study methods, I estimate that the expansion reduced households’ wireless service spending by more than 100 percent of subsidy payments. I document that the expansion led to a separate, competitive market for providers catering to low‐income households. Consequently, higher‐quality subsidized services crowded out lower‐quality unsubsidized options, saving households more than an equivalent cash transfer. This highlights how market segmentation and competition can magnify a targeted subsidy's impact.